EPCs are preparing to deliver data because their clients want it, say many users of AVEVA’s suite of plant design and construction software. Firms specializing in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPCs) traditionally create documents for use in quotation, bidding and construction and this has been paper or pdfs. EPCs now say that clients want the underlying data. The reason for this demand, say some owner/operators is $50 oil. In adjusting to lower priced commodities, refiners and processors are looking for greater efficiency in operations and maintenance. The systems that support that efficiency rely on data about the plant and much of that data is created at design time. EPCs and Owner/Operators discussed this data requirement at the AVEVA North American User Meeting, January, 2017 in The Woodlands, TX.

“2017 will bring more employment for piping designers and engineers,” says Dr. William Beazley, retired SPED Executive Director. Beazley said Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) plant spending should rise next year and sustained CAPEX spending means more jobs for pipers. “Every $Billion in sustained plant CAPEX adds about 100 jobs for piping designers.” Dr. Beazley made his comments in a video Keynote address for the 2016 SPED Annual General Business Meeting (AGBM), December 8, 2016.

Piping designers and engineers who typically ignore the opportunities in the residential and commercial/mechanical market may not realize how complex these piping/plumbing systems have become. A residential house, for example, may handle five or six separate fluids with different properties, with pumps, exchangers, boilers, sensors, actuated valves and complex control systems. Piping materials range from black iron, cast iron, stainless, copper, brass, PVC, PEX, etc. Joining systems vary widely from threaded pipe, to flared tubing, glued, expanded and specialty systems. It’s simply short-sighted to dismiss residential and other building applications as, “plumbing.” Many of these systems were on display at the International Builder’s Show (IBS) in Orlando, FL, January, 2017.